Hi there, I have had my puppy for a week and he is now 9 weeks old. I love him already but he just won't stop biting! I know this is normal for a puppy and I have received all kinds of advice. I have tried everything from yelping when he bites, ignoring, standing up and moving away (every time I do this he just bites me ankles and feet), saying 'no' firmly. I have also tried closing his mouth briefly and saying no but he just thinks I'm playing.

If anything, my saying no excites him and results in him barking!

I know I haven't had him for very long so this is all new to him, but my arms are now covered in little puncture wounds and any further advice would be a blessing!

Hi there, I have had my puppy for a week and he is now 9 weeks old. I love him already but he just won't stop biting! I know this is normal for a puppy and I have received all kinds of advice. I have tried everything from yelping when he bites, ignoring, standing up and moving away (every time I do this he just bites me ankles and feet), saying 'no' firmly. I have also tried closing his mouth briefly and saying no but he just thinks I'm playing.

If anything, my saying no excites him and results in him barking!

I know I haven't had him for very long so this is all new to him, but my arms are now covered in little puncture wounds and any further advice would be a blessing!

I won't say "it's normal" because you've clearly been told that plenty of times

My boy is 12 weeks old now, we got him when he was 9 weeks. He was exactly the same as yours....if we yelped or walked away it would egg him on even more! If we shut him outside the door on his own (in an area he couldn't wreck or harm himself in), he would "demonstrate" by soiling the carpets and pulling up wires. We would try to re direct him to toys - totally un-interested! You have to get to the root of his biting...yes it's because he's a puppy...but is it because he's over excited or because he's stressed? We've ONLY JUST found something that works...time out in crate. If you have a crate, I would highly recommend the following!

So, if he's biting -

- Calmly lead him to his crate

- Upon him entering the crate close the door

- Walk away and ignore any whining

- after a minute or two (or when he's calmed down) say "nice quiet" or "good quiet" and throw a treat in

-Open the crate door but give absolutely no attention or noise. Walk away

- After a minute of being calm outside the crate tell him "good boy" and pet him.

No, it's not a punishment (never use the crate as punishment). It's simply a time out for him to "reset". Obviously repeat if he carries on. He should get the hang of it. It didn't take Finnick that long Hope it works for you if you try it.

The crate gives him the chance to reset and emerge in a more calm manor. Just think of puppies as toddlers! So far, it totally has worked.

When R.D. was a pup, my arms looked like I had gone 10 rounds with a shark. We tried everything and nothing worked at first. But with steady "No", saying "Ow" and turning my back on him and not giving him attention, he eventually outgrew it. He is now the most loving and gentle "lap dog" you could ever ask for.

Is he just mouthing or biting down hard? Mine just mouths without hurting at all, but we are working on stopping that now. Can't have a 90 pound dog mouth me....the only time it hurts is when I'm trying to give him a treat and he is overly excited to take it....working on that right now.

Is he just mouthing or biting down hard? Mine just mouths without hurting at all, but we are working on stopping that now. Can't have a 90 pound dog mouth me....the only time it hurts is when I'm trying to give him a treat and he is overly excited to take it....working on that right now.

He bites down pretty hard and those little razor puppy teeth of his are veeerrry painful when they catch skin!

This is actually our only issue, he's catching onto toilet training incredibly fast and it took barely ten minutes to teach him some basic commands. He even sleeps through the night which I hear is a blessing

Thanks for all the advice guys, I actually haven't tried crate training yet but I think that's our next step. My question regarding crates though, is how do I make him view it as his own space to calm down instead of a punishment?

Hi there, I have had my puppy for a week and he is now 9 weeks old. I love him already but he just won't stop biting! I know this is normal for a puppy and I have received all kinds of advice. I have tried everything from yelping when he bites, ignoring, standing up and moving away (every time I do this he just bites me ankles and feet), saying 'no' firmly. I have also tried closing his mouth briefly and saying no but he just thinks I'm playing.

If anything, my saying no excites him and results in him barking!

I know I haven't had him for very long so this is all new to him, but my arms are now covered in little puncture wounds and any further advice would be a blessing!

Welcome to the club , "we have jackets." Love the little land shark. Mine still bites and he is 13 weeks. I've also tried everything. the only thing that works for me is to smack his muzzle with my finger. Now, if he tries to bite I will point at him and say no, and he stops. But, at first try everything. I think this is only for when everything else fails. Good luck on your lovely land shark.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the German Shepherd Dog Forums forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.